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In 1741, Jonathan Edwards, was concerned with the judgment of God on sinful people. So, he delivered his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Edwards spoke of the wrath people rightly faced when they confronted the judgment of a God who was angry at the way the people failed to do what they were called to do. The sermon, while terrifying many people, was quite pastoral. Once Edwards established the implications of the human behavior of his followers, and the rather gruesome rewards this behavior earned at the coming judgment before God, he turned his attention to what he described as the door of mercy which Christ opens wide so all might enter in. Rather than merely terrifying the listeners with a vision of the impending doom they faced, Edwards works hard to make the doom real so he can also proclaim the real mercy that's ready for Christians.
Today that's a concept that's not often dealt with seriously. In fact, the concept of judgment and punishment for our sins is more often like a production of the opera Faustus. Toward the end of one evening's production of the opera in Dublin, Ireland, Mephistopheles was conducting the title character, Faust, to and through the trap door in the stage that represented the gates of hell. Mephistopheles made the descent quite handily, but Faust, who was rather obese, got stuck halfway through the opening. No amount of pushing or pulling would budge him. Suddenly an Irishman in the balcony shouted, "Thank God! Hell's full!"
The story is humorous, and it deserves at least a smile, but, unfortunately, the story is also a symptom of the problems involved in talking about God's judgment today.
If you or I have a difficult time with God's condemnation of the wicked, it may be that we've suffered very little injustice or persecution. But for those who've been cruelly oppressed or violated by evil, it's only natural to cry out to God to set things right. Revelation 14:14-20 reinforces God's promise to judge evil, vindicate his children, and affirm God's justice. God will not allow evil to go unpunished. He will call for the blood of those who have shed the blood of his people. Many, maybe even some of us, have suffered unspeakable acts of abuse, violence, and injustice. Consider the suffering endured by Korean Christians shortly after the turn of the century. Japan invaded, conquered, and occupied Korea. Of all their oppressors, Japan was the most ruthless. They overwhelmed the Koreans with a brutality that would sicken the strongest of stomachs. Their crimes against women and children were inhuman. Many Koreans live today with the physical and emotional scars from the Japanese occupation.
One group singled out for concentrated oppression was the Christians. When the Japanese army overpowered Korea one of the first things they did was board up the evangelical churches and eject most foreign missionaries. The conquerors started by refusing to allow churches to meet and jailing many of the key Christian spokesmen. The oppression intensified as the Japanese military increased its profile in the South Pacific. The "Land of the Rising Sum" spread its influence through a reign of savage brutality. Anguish filled the hearts of the oppressed and kindled hatred deep in their souls.
One pastor persistently entreated his local Japanese police chief for permission to meet for services. His nagging was finally accommodated, and the police chief offered to unlock his church … for one meeting. It didn't take long for word to travel. Committed Christians starving for an opportunity for unhindered worship quickly made their plans. Long before dawn on that promised Sunday, Korean families throughout a wide area made their way to the church. They passed the staring eyes of their Japanese captors, but nothing was going to steal their joy.
The Korean church has always had a reputation as a singing church. Their voices of praise could not be concealed inside the little wooden frame sanctuary. Song after song rang through the open windows into the bright Sunday morning. For a handful of peasants listening nearby, the last two songs this congregation sang seemed suspended in time. It was during a stanza of "Nearer My God to Thee" that the Japanese police chief waiting outside gave the orders. The people toward the back of the church could hear them when they barricaded the doors, but no one realized they had doused the church with kerosene until they smelled the smoke. The dried wooden skin of the small church quickly ignited. Fumes filled the structure as tongues of flame began to lick the baseboard on the interior walls. There was an immediate rush for the windows. But momentary hope recoiled in horror as the men climbing out the windows came crashing back, their bodies ripped by a hail of bullets.
The good pastor knew it was the end. With a calm that comes from confidence, he led his congregation in a hymn whose words served as a fitting farewell to earth and a loving salutation to heaven. The first few words were all the prompting the terrified worshipers needed. With smoke burning their eyes, they instantly joined as one to sing their hope and leave their legacy. Their song became a serenade to the horrified and helpless witnesses outside. Their words also tugged at the hearts of the cruel men who oversaw this flaming execution of the innocent.
Suffering, of course, is a part of life. People hurt people. Sometimes in terrible ways. Almost all of us have experienced it at some time. Maybe you felt it when you came home to find your spouse had abandoned you, or when your integrity was destroyed by a series of well-timed lies, or when a friend betrayed you. It kills you inside. Bitterness clamps down on your soul.
God, however, is holy and righteous and will not allow evil to triumph. You and I are not to take revenge. The monsters will not get away with it. The terrible images of judgment burn into our imaginations the reality that judgment is coming. God will make things right. And those of us and others who have suffered will be comforted as God himself wipes away our tears and assures us of no more death or crying or pain.
Judgment is a somber reality and not something to be taken lightly. Our attitude about the reality of judgment is important for it will determine how we live. Judgment is God's business. We make judgments, but we dare not set ourselves up as Judge, since God alone decides a person's eternal destiny. Our job is to entrust ourselves and our circumstances to God and to remain faithful to Jesus despite the suffering. When it comes to judgment especially, it's important not to confuse God's role with our role.
As Jonathan Edwards traced things in his famous sermon, our sins convict us when we stand before God. But "we are the Lord's," we are saved because Jesus came and took on a human body and died for us. Because of that, we will not be held responsible for what we've done. Because of that, the prospect of God's judgment holds no terror for us.
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Rev. Charles Eldredge, a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is a retired pastor from Maitland Church of the Brethren, where he served for 29 years. He has a Facebook page and he may be contacted by email: ce1133@verizon.net